Situation: deadly
by Loopstagirl
Summary: a mission gets slightly out of control for the brothers...


**Disclaimer: funnily enough, i still don't own the Thudnerbirds or any of the characters mentioned**

John sat back in his control chair on Thunderbird Five and frantically tried to deny the fact that he was worried. Worried about his brothers and the mission they were undergoing. The last time he had talked to Scott, things weren't going well at all and he had to cut the conversation short when things had taken a turn for the worst. Maybe it was time to check in again…

"Thunderbird Five to Scott. Come in Scott…Scott?...SCOTT?!"

"Alright, alright, I'm receiving you John."

John let out a sigh of relief and sank even deeper into the chair. The image of Scott in front of him did nothing to relieve his anxiety. His brother was a mess. Every inch of Scott was covered in debris and his face was pale. If John didn't know any better, he would even say that his only oldest brother was shaking.

"What's the situation?"

"Not good. The main equipment has caught alight, burning both Alan and Gordon in the process. Honestly Johnny, when that thing blew, I…I thought that they may might not make it out alive. It was so close. Virgil's trying to control the fire and is worried about the Terrible Two at the same time. He is going to be lucky if he doesn't hurt himself."

Scott's voice trailed off as he looked over his shoulder. Even from the image that John was receiving, he could see copious amounts of black smoke billowing out from behind Scott, showing the seriousness of the situation. Snapping back round, Scott faced John again.

"I've gotta go Johnny-boy. They need my help with getting some of the men out of the structure."

Before John had a chance to say anything, Scott had signed off, leaving John looking at a blank screen. Sometimes he hated being stuck miles above the earth when his brothers were on dangerous missions such as this one. It made him feel so guilty. Luckily, before he had time to brood on the matter, another brother tried to contact him.

"Reading you, Virg. Go ahead."

If at all possible, Virgil looked even worse than Scott. As well as being covered in debris, he had streaks of soot across his face, almost looking like tribe marks. He looked frantically worried and kept glancing back over his shoulder towards where his older brother had disappeared into the smoke.

"It's a bad one, John. The equipment has blown and I don't think that anyone who was inside would make it. Even if they did, they would be burnt beyond recognition. And to think, Gordon and Alan were near that thing when it went…"

"Hey, calm down little bro," John felt himself beginning to panic even more when he took in the state of his brothers. This mission had something personal for each of them, and seeing that the two oldest were near on the verge of breaking meant that John had serious doubts himself whether or not it was going to be a success. Even with all their wonderful machines, there were some situations that International Rescue was just not prepared for.

"The rest of the planet is pretty quiet at the moment so you can take as long as it takes on this one. Why don't you have a quick time out and check the others over if you're really worried about the burns? Give yourself a moment, and then get back to it and show that fire whose boss."

Virgil nodded and squared his shoulders, preparing to go back and as John so mildly put it, show the fire who was boss. There were not many times when Virgil Tracy would admit to being scared, but this situation had become so out of control and deadly in such a short space of time that he was terrified what might happen next. If only they hadn't received that call…

Virgil mentally shook himself, blaming John for patching through the call wouldn't help anyone. International Rescue was here to help people, even if that meant putting their own lives on the line. Something that they tended to do quite often…

A yell for help sounded behind Virgil and he hastily signed off before disappearing back into the smoke. Barely being able to see, Virgil heard rather than saw Scott standing just in front of him, frantically battling at the flames. Grabbing the nearest set of fire equipment, Virgil joined his brother in the fight whilst at the same time wishing that his two youngest ones were out of the way. They had already experienced the damage that this thing could do.

Eventually, the flames began to die down before being completely extinguished by the two exhausted brothers. With the situation back under control, they both flopped simultaneously onto the hard floor and wiped a hand across their sweaty foreheads. Gordon and Alan rounded the corner, looking as bad as their brothers. Sinking to the floor next to them, the four of them all let out a sigh of relief. The situation was now back under control.

"What's the body count?" Alan asked softly. Immediately the atmosphere of relief stiffened as they all tensed, looking to Scott in anticipation.

"No one made it," Scott whispered, his voice hoarse and almost breaking from emotion. It wasn't often that they failed so completely, and being the team leader, everyone knew that Scott was taking it personally. Banging his head against the wall in frustration, Scott opened communications back up with John for all of them to hear.

"We failed, John. No one survived the flames. No one! Oh no, here comes the authorities. How am I going to break this to them? International rescue failed!"

Having nothing to say, John looked on at his four brothers, the feeling of guilt building even more. Here he was, sitting in space just waiting for calls whilst his four brothers were risking everything, both mentally and physically, just to try and save someone.

"INTERNATIONAL RESCUE!"

The voice yelled from some where out of John's line of vision, but he got a good view of his four brothers jumping to their feet, going even paler than before. He didn't envy them in the slightest, having to report to the figure in authority was always the hardest part, especially if not everyone had made it. They had all had dealings with this particular person before, and not all of them pleasant.

The four boys lined up against the wall, feeling as if they were lining up for the firing squad. Scott felt as though they should have been, he felt such a failure. As the figure strode into view, Scott took a hesitant step forward.

"We regret to inform you-," Before he could finish his sentence, the seething figure stopped before them, interrupting Scott with their fury.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY KITCHEN?"

John winced as his grandmother stood before his brothers. They may be grown men who saved the planet on a regular basis, but he should have never asked for them to bring him a batch of gingerbread men on their next supply visit. Although to be fair, he hadn't asked _them _to bake them, meaning that they couldn't hold him responsible for blowing up the oven. Could they?

**So? What did you think? was it obvious? Let me know, _please!_**


End file.
